our arizona vacation

We recently got home from a fantastic trip to Arizona.  We try to make a trip out every year in the winter to enjoy their nice weather but this year we made different plans.  My 10 year high school reunion was this October and after much debate I decided I wanted to go.  It was fun seeing old friends and I was surprised by how many people were exactly the same. 

I guess some things never change, huh?

Here I am with some good friends.

We also went to Apple Annie's Orchard in Wilcox, AZ.  We took my son a few times when he was a toddler and it was fun so we went again and everyone had a good time.  Here I am with my husband and little girl.

When we moved to North Dakota we had to leave our Sulcata tortoise behind.  We left her in good hands though.  She now resides in my in-law's backyard where she is spoiled daily with a wide variety of veggies.  She has gotten so big. 

 My son is 6 years old if that gives you an idea of how big she is.  And she's still growing.

We had a great trip and we loved spending time with our families.  I also loved all the shopping.  I have been deprived of great shopping here in the sticks (a.k.a. where I live).  My new favorite store is definitely H & M.  They have a ton of super cute yet affordable clothes.  Although I'm not a fan of the men's or boy's section.

When we left Arizona the temp was in the 80's and when we arrived in  North Dakota it was in the 40's.  As much as we loved the warm flip flop weather it's nice to be home and experience the fall season.  After living here I don't know if I could ever live anywhere without a true fall season.  I love it! 

Now don't get me started on winter though.

road trip

We spent the last week in Minneapolis!  We all squished jumped in the car for a good ol' family road trip.  The 5-6 hour drive took us 8-10 hours.

My husband drove most of the way.  I did however drive in North Dakota.  I wouldn't dare drive in Minneapolis.  I prefer the desolate North Dakota roads.

I think the highlight of our trip was the Mall of America.

My son loves the Nickelodeon Park.  He rode the rides with my husband and father in law.  His favorite was Brainsurge.

My favorite part of the trip was the shopping.  After you've lived in a super duper small town without a Target for 2 years you really start to appreciate shopping at a variety of stores.  We may have bought a little too much.  After our visit to Costco my husband had to rearrange the luggage again.

Yes, we bought a toilet.  Weird, right?  We were super excited to score a great deal on this toilet. 

I told you we live in a small town and are easily excited by big stores and good deals.

I got to change a dirty diaper while my in-laws and husband did all the hard work fitting the toilet and a dozen other bags in the car.

This is how my son spent his time in the car.  The Nintendo DS got A LOT of play!

They finally got all our junk in the car barely. But we no longer had enough room for my father in law's beer.

So he drank it right there in the Costco parking lot.  I kid. I kid...he brought it with him.  He's a bit of a comedian.

Our last stop on the way home is one of my favorite stores.  Hobby Lobby.  It's in Fargo which is about 2 hours from our home so it's a bit of a treat to shop there for me since it doesn't happen very often.

My mother-in-law and I were stoked about Hobby Lobby but the guys weren't.  My father in law was especially bummed.

We had a great trip but we are so happy to be home.  I have 6 piles of laundry waiting for me and a new toilet to watch my husband install so I better run.

ahead of schedule

I am on a roll this year. Seriously. I have gotten all but 2 or 3 presents ordered and most are already wrapped. I took the kids in to get their Christmas photos a couple of days ago and I ordered greeting cards while I was there so that's done. I can't avoid showing you at least 2 photos. Aren't they cute?

I have even managed to put up most of my Christmas decor. (patting myself on the back) Here are two photos I took with my camera phone as I was putting it all up. It's a work in progress but you get the idea.

as good as it gets

Remember this photo?

It was my profile picture for the last 6-8 months. I got so tired of looking at it over and over again knowing I was due for a new picture. Don't get me wrong. It's a great picture and my son is as adorable as ever. I also like my hair do and Arizona tan in this picture. I've gotten quite pale living up here in the arctic.

It's not very often that I am in front of the camera but on the long drive to the town we are moving to (ok, 30 minutes, isn't that long) I had some free time and snapped away while riding shotgun to my son's preschool graduation.

Not the best pictures but they will certainly do for now. Like the bottled water case in the back seat?

My son picked this dandelion before we left and insisted I wear it the whole night. It pooped out and died before the ceremony was over but looked great for these photos.

And because I never post any pictures of my husband (this is for you Cierra)...here are my two guys. This photo also happens to be the only one my son actually smiled in.

and so we meet again

We are back from Minneapolis feeling much better than we did last time. This trip was fun and although there was business (if you call trying to diagnose your child business) we played a lot. Unfortunately, we still can't seem to find a diagnosis so we will keep working and I will leave it at that. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

But like I said....we played. We went to the aquarium in the Mall of America which was very cool. We saw sharks, octopus, an alligator, huge water turtles, and we pet sharks and sting rays. My son loved it so much we went again later that day. Gotta love those all day passes. We shopped (or better yet, I did most of the shopping) and enjoyed good food. It was a nice yet quick trip.

I didn't have much time before we left to get much done but I really wanted a new purse/ bag for the trip. It always feels good to have something new, right? So I quickly stitched together this hobo bag. I wasn't too sure about it at first but the more I use it the more I love it. It's so spacious and I have received a lot of compliments. When it comes to purses, I am a bag lady.

Have you seen my brain?

It seems to be missing along with my favorite pair of panties which I am sure the dog has drug under the bed to his secret chewing dungeon. But seriously, this week has just flown by.


My husband is back now and is currently yelling through the house over and over again because getting up and walking 4 feet to the next room would be too much work, right? Hold on, let me see what he needs.

Ok, I'm back and the world can go on. Now where was I? Oh, yeah...so my husband is back and it's great to have him around. The picture above is the two of us after his graduation ceremony. He lost 20 lbs. at the academy! Damn him! Always making me look bad! I am secretly putting lard in his food now.

We are planning a big party this weekend to welcome him back. I am trying to plan for that all while explaining to my husband why we DON'T need a keg and he CAN'T get shit faced and play the pin the tail on the monkey game that I bought for my son's birthday party.

My husband went to a new uniform for work and tons of gear, goodies, etc. The old stuff is all over the place. I am thinking about throwing a table liner and some decorative pieces over the pile of old uniforms lining my wall and blocking my $12 wallflower.

My son has a double ear infection and insists that a mean kid gave it to him. All day he kept telling me that the kid needs to say sorry. How do you explain to a 2 year old that if mommy ever found the 'kid' who gave him the double ear infection he would be the sorry one? Luckily, we saw the dr. and are on meds so he should be sleeping again soon.

And speaking of sleeping...peace out!